Fifth annual wine, food festival returns to San Diego

SAN DIEGO -- "Top Chef" judge Ted Allen, 15 celebrity chefs, 70
local restaurants and more than 160 wineries will be showcased at
the fifth annual San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival, which
kicks off a five-day series of events on Nov. 12.

The annual festival at Embarcadero Park North in downtown San
Diego -- which draws about 8,000 foodies, wine enthusiasts and
industry representatives each year -- includes wine tastings and
special releases, lunches, brunches and dinners, cooking
demonstrations, classes, and the festival's Grand Tasting Event
next weekend.

"The event has grown a lot," says festival producer Michelle
Metter. "At this point, it's seen as a national food and wine
festival, which for us means we have a really wonderful
cross-section of foodies and wine lovers, as well as members of the
wine-buying trade and the best fine-dining restaurants in
town."

The festival begins Wednesday with the San Diego Wine Rave, a
tasting party from 7-10 p.m. at the W Hotel. Tickets are $35-$45.
Nov. 13 and 14 will feature cooking classes and demonstrations,
wine classes, panel discussions and blind tastings, as well as a
Japanese sake tasting, held both at the Macy's School of Cooking
and the San Diego Wine & Culinary Center. Events include a
chocolate-and-wine-pairing class by Michael Antonorsi of Chuao
Chocolatier in Carlsbad and a class by Encinitas resident Sam "The
Cooking Guy" Zien. Class tickets range from $45 to $60.

This year's festival headliner is Allen, co-star of Bravo's
top-rated cooking series "Top Chef" and Food Network's "Food
Detective," who will host two events on Nov. 14, a 3 p.m. cooking
class at Macy's School of Cooking and a reserve and new-release
wine tasting and silent auction from 6:30-9:30 p.m. aboard the
Hornblower ship Inspiration. Tickets are $90.

"We're excited to have someone like Ted here this year," Metter
said. "He's such a charismatic, entertaining, charming guy, and he
knows a lot about wine and food. I think people are going to really
enjoy both what he has to say and his personality."

Three "Top Chef" finalists will also appear at the festival:
Brian Malarkey of San Diego's Oceanaire Seafood Room; last season's
No. 2 finalist, Richard Blais of Atlanta; and 2007 finalist Casey
Thompson of Dallas. They will co-host a cooking class and will
prepare a five-course lunch at 11:30 a.m. Nov. 14 at the Macy's
School. Tickets are $75.

At the same time, the San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina will
host a Celebrity Chef Luncheon & Big Bottle Auction featuring
"Iron Chef" finalist Gavin Kaysen (formerly of El Bizcocho in
Rancho Bernardo and now at Cafe Boulud in New York); Bernardo
Guillas of the Marine Room in La Jolla; Jimmy Schmidt of
Rattlesnake in Detroit; and Sondra Bernstein of The Girl & the
fig in Sonoma. Tickets start at $150.

Metter said that several classes and events are expected to sell
out this week, including those featuring Allen, the "Top Chef"
stars, Sam the Cooking Guy and the blind wine tasting with master
sommelier Joseph Spellman of Joseph Phelps Vineyards.